NUFORC Sighting 36352

Occurred: 1977-06-30 23:45 Local
Reported: 2004-04-14 22:45 Pacific
Duration: 5 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: St. Joseph, MI, USA

Shape: Oval
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object

Detailed Observation of Hovering UFO in St. Joseph, Michigan on July 30, 1977

My brother and I were in my car driving down our parents street just before midnight. We both noticed a bright light at the end of the street. I initially thought it was the street light. However, as we drove closer, I saw that it wasn't the street light. It was a very bright light about 75 feet to 100 feet or so above and just behind the homes at the end of the street. It appeared to be in a stationary or hovering position just behind and above the homes. I parked my car in my parents driveway and walked down the street to see if I could get a closer view of this bright object. As I walked about 100 feet or so down the street, the bright object slowly (less than 5 mph) began moving toward me. The bright object was about 75 feet to 100 feet up and made absolutely no sound at all. As the object moved closer towards me, one of the first things that I could make out was that the craft had an opaque whiteish colored dome. There were red and white lights at the base of the whitish dome that went around the base of the dome in a counter-clockwise direction. The craft was oval shaped, brass colored and about 15 feet long and 10 feet wide. It also seemed like there was something like very very faint light blue lines that were emitted around the perimeter of the craft (there was just something about this I can't explain or be sure of). The craft was so close and I could see it so clearly that I couldn't believe I was actually seeing it right before my eyes. It looked like nothing I had ever seen or experienced before in my life or in this world. I got this feeling of exhileration and excitement that I never felt before in my life and have never felt since then.

The object slowly crossed between our neighbor's lawn and my parents lawn. I walked a few feet off the street and stood under a maple tree. I saw the underside of the craft. The craft was oval shaped and brass colored. It had an opaque whitish colored dome with red and white lights at the base of the dome that went around the base of the dome in a counter-clockwise direction. The perimeter around the base of the craft curved slightly upwards. The underside of the craft was a brass color and had ridges that ran across the base of the craft (like a ridged potato chip). It had four bright warm lights (one in front, one in the rear, one on the left and one on the side). The lights were cylindrical and imbedded in the base of the craft. They had a very warm yellowish white glow. At this point my exhilaration started to turn to being a little afraid. I started to get a little afraid because the craft was almost directly overhead about 100 feet up. I stood under the maple tree and observed the craft through the leaves.

The craft slowly began to pick up speed as it hovered silently over our lawn and across the field behind our house. It slowly picked up spped from less than 5 miles per hour to about 10 mph to 20 mph. It traveled across the field toward I-94 in a southeasterly direction. I went in the house and told my mother about it. I then called the Michigan State Police Post in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph. I told the State Police trooper what I had just seen and the direction it was traveling in. I told him I had never seen a UFO before and that I was not mentally ill or drunk. The State Police trooper treated my call like it was a joke and said what I had seen was probably a "weather balloon". I told him it was not a weather ballon and that the object was headed in a southeasterly direction from St. Joseph, Michigan towards Niles, Michigan.

The next day I was reading the Herald-Palladium (local newspaper) and on one of the back pages, there was an article about a UFO being reported by residents in the Allegan, Michigan area the night I observed the UFO in St. Joseph. Allegan, Michigan is about 60 miles from St. Joseph in Southwestern Michigan. An Allegan County Sheriff's Deputy had responded to the calls from local residents and also observed the UFO himself.



Posted 2004-04-27

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